Jacqueline Sandoval has a long relationship with politics. For as long as she can remember, she's worked on political campaigns from John Kerry to Jim Pederson, and now Barak Obama; Sandoval is a Democrat all the way. She was recently chosen out of 600+ students to intern with the Obama campaign, and she couldn't be more excited.
Sandoval is a part-time student at Estrella Mountain and is majoring in political science. She has been very active at the college serving as a student ambassador, participating in the Student Public Policy Forum and Student Conferences, interning with the Student Diversity Infusion Program, and even volunteering outside of the campus with Mujer, Inc. - an organization dedicated to empowering young Latina women.
A member of Young Democrats of America since her high school years, Sandoval has participated in many opportunities to register America's youth to vote and support the Democratic Party. Certified through the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Sandoval's mission is to register as many youth as possible to vote in the primaries and upcoming election. She has already traveled to Philadelphia during Spring Break working with the "Students for Barak Obama Youth Vote" program, and on April 16, she will begin work with "Get Out the Vote" in Pittsburg. She'll even have an opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico in June. Each opportunity sends Sandoval on an adventure through colleges and universities in the area for one week to educate students on their civic duty and register them to vote.
Recently hired as the Phoenix Director for the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project for their "Youth Vote 2008" campaign, Sandoval is also getting the word out locally. She will be responsible for registering students from Estrella Mountain Community College, South Mountain Community College, Phoenix College, and Arizona State University to vote.
Estrella Mountain's faculty, staff and students have been very supportive of Sandoval's interests and even raised money to help her be able to continue her internship. Dr. Olga Tsoudis organized a campus fundraiser to help pay for Sandoval's airfare. "Dr. Tsoudis has done so much for me since I have been a student here and I just wanted to thank everyone who made it possible for me to be part of such a historic election," said Sandoval.